Fairy Ring & Leaf Spot

Fairy Ring

Fairy Rings are caused by various fungi causing rings or arcs of mushrooms, dead grass, dark green grass or all three at the same time in the same place. Fairy Rings can be several years old and can keep growing for many years.

When a fungus grows in turf then Fairy Rings can develop. If the soil has enough water and the lawn contains natural soils the fungi that cause Fairy Rings attack and breakdown dead and decaying plant material which could be buried wood, dead tree roots, trees that have been cut down and the stumps covered over, buried timber and Lawn Thatch. As the fungi live in these materials they attack and break them down causing them to decay. The decaying material is used by micro-organisms in the soil which makes nitrogen and other nutrients available to the grass and can cause areas of grass in the Fairy Ring to grow faster and a darker green which is why dark green rings or circles in Fairy Rings may appear.

The reason that rings or circles of dead grass might appear is that soil and dead or decaying material that have Fairy Ring fungi in them repel moisture and the grass dies in rings or circles in the affected area because it is starved of water. The reason why mushrooms might grow in the Fairy Rings is that mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of the fungi that cause the Fairy Rings and are part of the underground fungi rather than a separate organism.

Lawnsavers Lawn Treatment Services can give you advice on what can be done about Fairy Rings and mushrooms and recommend any suitable treatments or solutions that might be available.

Leaf Spot / Leaf Blight

Leaf Spot and Leaf Blight are the same disease with just different names given to them. Leaf Spot is due to various fungi, the most common being Cercospora fusimaculan. Cool wet weather causes Leaf Spot and it is visible by the lawn looking brown and yellow and on closer inspection brown red or yellow spots will be seen on some of the leaves of the grass. Also, the turf may start thinning out during periods of prolonged cool wet weather it can sometimes, in severe cases, kill the grass.

Leaf Spot is caused by cool wet weather and underfed unhealthy lawns are more susceptible. The feeds that Lawnsavers Lawn Treatment Services apply, Hollow Tine Aeration, Scarification (if Thatch or Moss are present) and advice we give about mowing, watering and other advice all help to promote a healthy lawn which will make the lawn less susceptible to attack, but the main reason for the cause of Leaf Spot is weather conditions.